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Polish and paint the town

Summer is the smell of coconut butter, the sound of flipping-flops and the sight of painted toenails. Teen-age Girlfriends paint each other and grand women go to salons, but either way, polished digits cause a girl to get giddy.

The challenge is always the color, and though I usually lean toward the coral shades (never blues, greens, or browns); today I feel like RED. Red is the color my mom would put on her fingers when she got all dressed up to go out with my dad. Red is the color of the lipstick that my son’s 3rd grade teacher would ceremoniously pull out of her case and apply to her lips just before she planted a “big one” on his cheek to reward him for not disturbing the class for one whole day.

And red is the color that I’ll use to paint the town with tonight. A grand saying that requires explanation:

According to answers.com: “Painting the town red” originally meant to engage in a riotous spree. Today, it just means to go out and have a good time. You don’t really have to riot. The reference is to a tale dating from 1837. It is said that year is when the Marquis of Waterford and a group of friends ran riot in the Leicestershire town of Melton Mowbray in England, painting the town’s toll-bar and several buildings red.

Now, I must say in all honesty that when the Marquis went out on his infamous evening in 1837, I whole-heartedly agree with his color selection, because who really wants to paint the town blue, green or brown?

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BONUS READ : if you really want fantastic facts on the evolution of nail polish click on this site. Do you know the name of the 1920’s movie star who’s polished nails became the american fashion trend?

4 thoughts on “Polish and paint the town”

This is great Gwen! This caused me to slow down and relax!
All the visuals added another layer of creativity enhancing the experience and wonder of the story and the storyteller.
And Tim’s comment made me laugh out loud, that is something my father would have said.
Christine

Today I saw Red in the purest of ways.
I embodied the color of passionate blaze.
In my Crayola Red pullover
And my cotton Puma tee,
There was Red in my cherry coke
And the bands that adorned my shirt sleeves.
I saw Red in the clouds of a just newborn day;
And when day grew old
Clouds choose Red again to play.
I felt waves of Red ‘s presence
Pulsing deep with beginnings new
This empowering day of Red
Was far better than any blue.